Letter-box plate.



F. F. FIELD.

LETTER BOX PLATE.

APPLIOATION FILED rm. '1, 1911.

1,020,194. Patented 1\ t[ar.12,l912.

fig: 2 fig-.3 a 16 a 17 INK/ENTER.- W 3 5M JM'ZW COLUMBIA PLANOOHAPH co., wmnmo'rou, 1) C Unis FREDERICK FRANKLIN FIELD, OF LAKEWOOD, RHODE ISLAND.

LETTER-B OX PLATE.

Application filed February 7, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Fnnnnuiox F RANK- LIN FIELD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lakewood, town of ar-wick, in the county of Kent and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Letter-Box Plates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to an improvement in letter box plates for dwelling houses and other buildings.

The object of my invention is to provide a letter box with a plate in which the flap forms a name plate and the persons name shows through the mail opening in the plate, through which the mail is inserted, thereby eliminating confusion and the liability of inserting the mail matter in the wrong box.

A final object of my invention is to simplify the construction and reduce the cost of manufacturing letter box plates embodying the above features.

My invention consists in the peculiar and novel construction of a sheet metal letter box plate, having details of construction, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter and claimed.

Figure 1. is a vertical face view of a portion of the outer wall of a house, provided with my improved inclosed letter box, and showing the combined name and letter box plate. Fig. 2. is a vertical view similar to Fig. 1. looking at the inner face of the wall. Fig. 3. is a vertical sectional view through the wall and letter box, taken on line 3. 3. of Fig. 2. Fig. 4C. is an enlarged view of the name and letter box plate, looking at the back, with the name flap closed. Fig. 5. is a vertical sectional view through the name and letter box plate, taken on line 5. 5. of Fig. 1., with the name flap pushed into an open position, by inserting a letter through the mail opening, and automatically making an electrical connection. Fig. 6. is an enlarged end view of the weight on the name flap, removed from the flap, and Fig. 7. is an enlarged perspective view of one of the internal letter box fastening rods.

In the drawings 8. indicates the outer wall of a wooden house of the usual construction, 9. my improved sheet metal letter box, 10. the sheet metal name and letter box plate, and 11. the electrical system for automatically announcing the entrance of mail mat ter into the letter box.

The wall 8. is constructed to have the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

Serial No. 607,150.

usual studding 12., boarding 13. and clapboards 1 1. secured to the outer face of the studding and the laths 15. and plastering 16. secured to the inner face of the studding, forming the usual air space 17. which varies in thickness. A horizontal upper outside inlet opening 18, is cut through the clapboards 14. and boarding 13. forming an inlet opening for the letter box and a comparatively large rectangular lower inside opening 19. is cut through the plastering 16. and laths 15. forming an outlet opening for the letter box, as shown in Fig. 3.

The letter box 9. is constructed of sheet metal in two rectangular box shape body members, 20. and 21. which shut one within the other. The body member 20. has a box shaped body closed on the back sides and bottom in which is an opening 22. and open on the front and partly closed on the top from which a short chute 23. extends upward with an opening 2 1. in the back coinciding with the upper outside inlet opening 18. in the wall 8. The door body member 21. is closed on the top, bottom and sides, open on the front and back and has a flat door frame 25. the opening in -which is closed by a door 26. which is hinged at one side to the frame 25. and has a lock 27. A fastening rod 28. having an eye 29. at one end and an eye 30. bent at right angles, at the other end, is pivotally secured at each side to the door body member 21. by a rivet 31. and adj ustably secured through the eye 30. by a screw which screws through holes in the back of the body member 20. into the boarding 13. as shown in Fig. 2. A battery box 233. closed on the bottom and sides and having an open top with an external lip 34. extends downward through the opening 22. in the bottom of the body member 20. and is held in position by the lip 34. engaging with the edge of the opening 22. The outside inlet opening 18. in the wall is closed by a name and letter box plate 35. secured to the wall or box by screws 01' other means. This plate 35. is constructed of sheet metal to have a flat border 36. a central outwardly extending portion 37. forming a wedgeshaped recess 38. in the back and an inclined face 39. which extends upwardly from the bottom and outwardly at the top and has a horizontal mail slot 10. normally closed by a name plate flap 41. which closes by gravity. This name plate flap 41. is formed from a sheet metal plate having a slot 42. and by bending the edges of the plate over and back of a strip of glass 43. and also around a rod 44. at the top, the ends of the rod being secured in the recess 38. to the plate 10. by riveting or other means, thereby hinging the name plate flap 41. at the top, and in a position for the slot 42. in the name plate flap 41. to coincide with the mail slot 40. in the name and letter box plate 35. A weight 45. consisting of a rod 46. and a strip of sheet metal 47. bent around the rod and then bent at right angles to form a lip 48. is detachably secured to the back of the name plate flap 4. by forcing the lip 48. down between the upturned lip of the name plate flap and the glass 43. A name card 49. is secured back of the glass 43. by forcing the lower edge of the card down between the lip 48. on the weight 45. and the glass 43. as shown in Figs. 4. and 5. The name is plainly seen through the glass 43. and the slots in the flap and plate, as shown in Fig. l.

The electrical system 11. consists preferably of a dry cell 50., an electric bell 51., a spring contact 52. secured to an insulating block, which in turn is secured to the plate 10. in a position for the flap 41. to engage with the contact spring, a wire 53. connecting the dry cell 50. with the plate 10. a'wire 54. connecting the dry cell 50. with the bell 51. and a wire 55. connecting the bell 51. with the spring contact 52. as shown in Fig. 3.

The body member 20. is inserted through the inside lower opening 19. in the inner wall and secured to the boarding 13. by the screw 32. in a position for the opening 24. to coincide with the upper inlet opening 18. The door body member 21., which may be reversed so that the door will open either to the right or left, is then inserted through the opening 19. in the wall into the body member 20. in which ithas a sliding fit and secured by the fastening rods 28. and screws 32. as shown in Fig. 3. The battery box 33. is now inserted through the door opening and dropped down through the opening 22. in the bottom of the box, into the air space 17. in the wall, the dry cell 50. placed in the battery box and the system wired up as described. The wires are shown as carried up through the letter box for clearness of illustration only.

When in use the name of the owner is clearly seen at the exact place where the mail matter is inserted, thereby avoiding mistakes, where two or more letter boxes are used and when mail matter as indicated at 56. in Fig. 5. is inserted through the slot in the letter box plate the metal plate is raised and brought into electrical contact with the contact spring 52'. thereby ringing the bell 51. and signaling that mail matter has been desposited in the box.

It is evident that in houses having electric bell systems, the wires 53. and 55. may be connected direct to the wiring of the existing system, the weight 45. on the name flap 41. could be dispensed with for inside doors or walls or any place where wind pressure could not affect the plate, and other details of construction could be varied, without materially affecting, the spirit of my invention.

TIaving thus described my invention, I cram. as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent A combined drop and name plate for letter box plates, said drop and name plate being formed from a sheet metal blank having a slot coinciding with the slot in the letter box plate, a strip of glass secured in place, by bending the edges of the blank over and back of the glass and around a rod at the top which is secured at each end to the letter box plate, thereby forming a hinge for the drop plate, a name card secured by forcing the edge of the card down between the turned over edge of the drop plate and the glass, and a weight consisting of a rod and a sheet metal casing formed around the rod and having a lip, whereby the weight is secured to the drop plate, by forcing the lip on the weight down between the turned oveg'l edge of the drop plate and the name car In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' FREDERlCK FRANKLIN FIELD.

Witnesses:

MICHAEL FISHER, CHAS. H. LUTHER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

